If sources are to be believed, Rahul Gandhi will be re-elevated as the Congress chief. But as Congress continues to bootlick dynasty criterion, it is Shashi Tharoor whose call to have a poll in this regard that has been relegated
Bengaluru: Rahul Gandhi, who resigned as the party chief last year, owing to ignominious defeat in the Lok Sabha in the hands of the BJP, is set to be re-crowned with the top honours this year.
Sources say this could happen as quickly as March.
But that is not the only issue. Though the entire Congress party has expressed its willingness to bring Rahul Gandhi back, there is one leader who begs to differ.
And that senior Congress leader is Shashi Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
The Congress party has been frequently bombarded with slurs of dynasty politics. Yet it refuses to change its tricks.
In fact, when Rahul Gandhi threw in the towel, he had made it aptly clear that his successor would be a non-Gandhi. But the Congress think-tank did not honour his request. It was his own mother who took over the reins.
Shashi Tharoor had made it very clear that he wanted a poll to elect the new leader.
He said, “I renew my appeal to the CWC to hold leadership elections to energise workers and inspire voters.”
But the leader has got a royal snub. It is sad that Tharoor, who gives long sermons on how Hindus should be, is not honoured in his own party.
A popular website quoted how AICC media head Randeep Surjewala dismissed Tharoor, saying, “the CWC had unanimously nominated Sonia Gandhi as interim chief after Rahul Gandhi resigned. If anyone has suspicions in that respect, I advise them to read the CWC resolution”.
It’s not just Shashi Tharoor, even the rank and file and the cadre of Congress want a rejuvenation in the form of a non-Gandhi to lead them.
If at all the Congress wanted to be different and prove that it is not a Gandhi-centric entity, it could have chosen from a galaxy of other leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Ahmed Patel, or a youngster like Jyotiraditya Scindia.
But Rahul’s re-elevation only means that Congress sticks to its old script and gives more ammunition to the opposition.
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